Market Studies

The national mortgage delinquency rate fell further in Q3 2012 to 5.41 percent, TransUnion reported Tuesday. The rate is a decrease from 5.49 percent in Q2 2012 and a near 8 percent drop from 5.88 percent in Q3 2011, according to the credit bureau. The delinquency rate includes borrowers who are past due by 60 or more days. When examining improvements among metropolitan areas, however, TransUnion found a smaller share of metros experienced a drop in their rates compared to previous quarters.

Mortgage Daily released a list of the top 10 servicers based on portfolio size as of September 30. However, Mortgage Daily says spots 4-6 on the third quarter list could change due to recent acquisitions from Ocwen Financial Corporation, Nationstar Mortgage, and Walter Investment Management. For now, top servicers on the list were Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, and U.S. Bank. Ocwen, which is not on the top 10 list, is expected to move into a top five position.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) offered market projections into 2014 during a forum at the 2012 Realtors Conference and Expo. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says he expects the market share of distressed sales to fall from about 25 percent in 2012 to 8 percent in 2014, according to a release on the forum. The housing recovery was expected to continue so long as credit does not further tighten and a fiscal cliff is avoided.

The state of the housing market continues to improve though recovery remains ""fragile,"" according to the October Housing Scorecard released Friday by the Obama administration. Along with the scorecard, the administration released special instructions for those administering the Making Home Affordable Program in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. In areas directly impacted by Hurricane Sandy, servicers must offer at least three months forbearance to any homeowners eligible for Making Home Affordable who request forbearance.

The price difference between a foreclosure and non-distressed sale is getting smaller, according to new analysis from Zillow. In September, the nationwide discount for bank-owned properties compared to non-foreclosures was 7.7 percent, Zillow reported. In September 2011, the foreclosure discount averaged 9.1 percent and in August 2009, foreclosure discounts peaked at 23.7 percent. Year-over-year, foreclosure discounts decreased in 76.9 percent of the metros analyzed, and all the metros showed a decrease from their peak.

Fannie Mae has experienced significant improvements in recent months. The GSE reported a $1.8 billion net income for the third quarter of this year, a notable improvement over the $5.1 billion loss reported in the same quarter last year. Fannie Mae's third quarter report states the entity will not require a draw from Treasury this quarter. Fannie Mae also incurred a net income of $9.7 billion over the first three quarters of this year, leading the GSE to expect an annual net income for the first time since 2006.

Even though President Obama and Governor Romney were criticized for evading housing issues when running for president, Clear Capital asserts the ""sprint"" in housing still spoke positively for Obama and assisted him in his recent re-election. But, now that Obama has won a second term, his administration is charged with leading phase two of the housing recovery, and this will happen by collaborating with the industry to reduce regulatory uncertainty, according to a Clear Capital report.

It's been a tumultuous couple of weeks for Americans, but mortgage rates have been rock-steady. Freddie Mac reported mixed rate movements for the week ending November 8, but any budges made were small. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) for the week was 3.40 percent (0.7 point), up slightly from 3.39 percent in the previous week's survey. The 15-year fixed average fell, meanwhile, dropping to 2.69 percent (0.7 point) from 2.70 percent previously.

In September, the nation's delinquency rate suddenly spiked 7.7 percent from August, according to data from Lender Processing Services (LPS). The data provider explained the surge in its recent Mortgage Monitor report for September. For one, first time delinquencies increased by about 200,000 from the month before as more borrowers rolled into 30 day delinquency status. Despite the increase, other numbers were still down. Foreclosure starts hit their lowest level since September 2007 and were down 27.9 percent yearly.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 8,000 to 363,000 for the week ending November 3, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 370,000 initial claim filings. It was the third straight weekly decline and the fifth drop in the last seven weeks.